Caleb Moore remembered for his big heart, hard work

Feb. 1, 2013
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Caleb Moore competed on all-terrain vehicles since his childhood before trying snowmobiles four years ago. He passed away Jan. 31, 2013, as a result of injuries suffered in the X Games a week earlier. / AAron Ontiveroz, Denver Post via Getty Images

by By Rachel George, USA TODAY Sports

by By Rachel George, USA TODAY Sports

Caleb Moore had given his help so easily before that Jackson Strong felt compelled to return it.

Moore made the transition from riding all-terrain vehicles to competing on snowmobiles in the X Games four years ago. Trying to make the same move from dirtbikes to snow, Strong turned to Moore for help.

He received it willingly.

Strong was learning the sport two months ago, and Moore sent him fabricated parts that he'd already had made so that Strong could get his snowmobile modified.

On Thursday when news came of Moore's death following a crash in the X Games, it was his kindness that Strong remembered.

"He's a really kind-hearted country kid," Strong said of the Krum, Texas native. "He didn't try to go out there and be the cool guy. He was just a nice, very, very normal person. And he was willing to do anything for anyone without asking for anything in return."

The Australian rider is also sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drinks, which suggested that he sell his snowmobile from the X Games to raise money for Moore's medical fund. Moore was hospitalized for a week in intensive care and had heart surgery before his death.

By Thursday evening, the bidding had reached $8,900. Strong is hoping to raise more to help Moore's family.

While he prays for them â?? including Moore's brother, Colten, who was also injured in a crash that night â?? Strong knows the sport is inherently dangerous.

Competing in the best trick final on Sunday night, Strong was thrown from his sled in the air and had to dodge it as it landed. The throttle stuck and the runaway snowmobile ran into a crowd of spectators, with one young male getting hurt trying to get out of its way.

But the four snowmobile crashes don't point to one safety concern the X Games could make, Strong said. The sport itself is inherently dangerous.

"You can't really narrow it down to anything," he said. "At the end of the day, what we do is very dangerous.

"It's what we all love doing. We know the risk. We do it anyway. At the end of the day, we love doing it."

Steve Mateus, the director of core sports marketing and athlete management for Rockstar, agreed. When athletes are flipping 450-pound machines in the air, that danger cannot be mitigated.

But Moore worked to prepare himself for these competitions.

Mateus met him when he was making the transition to snowmobiles. The Moore brothers had ridden ATVs since childhood, but when it became clear that anything with four wheels wasn't going to be added to the summer X Games, they decided to try their hand on the snow.

"We knew they had all the tricks that everyone could do on a freestyle motocross bike. These guys were doing the same thing on quads, and they were the only ones doing it," Mateus said. "When they went to sleds, it was easy to say, 'If anyone can do it, these kids can.'"

Success followed. Caleb won four X Games medals in his career, including bronze last year in the freestyle final. Colten took gold.

"They were able to go out there and win medals right away," said Strong, "so that inspired me to try the same thing."

As family and friends mourn, Mateus said he'll remember Moore for how hard he worked. The brothers quickly worked to make themselves strong competitors on the snow.

"He was always smiling, always happy, always very polite and always very happy to be in the position that he was in," Mateus said. "This was just a really good kid that worked his butt off and tried as hard as he could at everything he did."